


The luckiest misfortune

by amor_gignit_amorem



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 18:23:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amor_gignit_amorem/pseuds/amor_gignit_amorem
Summary: It was supposed to be just another regular day in Gale Hawthorne's life but some unfortunate event might change everything.





	The luckiest misfortune

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've written and English is not my first language so don't mind any mistakes. Hope you all like it :)

Wednesday was being a particularly shitty day to Gale Hawthorne from its very beginning, first his annoying snobby roommate Cato and his girlfriend arrived home super late and had loud sex till 3 a.m., which made it impossible for him to get some proper sleep seeing that he had to wake up at six to have his morning run and then he had to get ready and take a thirty minutes bus ride to his awfully boring job in an office.

 

When he woke up he looked at the clock and it marked 7:05. His eyes went wide. And he got up with a start.

 

"Shit! By this time I should be getting ready already." He took a super quick shower and just picked up the first shirt and pair of pants he saw. 

 

He had no time for breakfast, but he heard noises coming from the kitchen so probably Cato or Clove were up and making coffee, and that he would gladly take. From the hall he saw that Clove was the only one there.

 

"You're looking like shit, Hawthorne." Said Clove.

 

Gale thought, _maybe if you hadn't screamed so much last night I wouldn't be looking like this!_ But he bit his tongue and replied "Just tired, didn't get enough sleep."

 

He quickly filled his cup and started his way out. "Bye, Clove. Got go or I'll miss my bus."

 

"Bye! And Cato wants to talk to you later..."

 

"Ok".

                  ~~~~***~~~~

 

In spite of almost losing his bus, Gale got to his work just in time. He went to his desk and picked up on some things he didn't have time to finish yesterday. The day in the office was being pretty uneventful until he realized in the lunch break that he had to deliver a report to his boss, the only problem was he had left it at home!

 

He even thought of calling one of his friends who had a car, but they all worked in other parts of town. Besides he didn't want to make them lose their lunch break and come back late to work just because of his absent-mindedness. So he braced himself for what was to come. He would probably be scolded and called incompetent by his boss or fired or both.

 

Surprisingly his boss seemed really uninterested in what he had to say about the delay in the report's delivery and allowed him to deliver it the next day, but he did call Gale incompetent.

 

When the time to go home came he couldn't be more relieved, but in another misfortune, a storm poured down while he was at the bus stop. By the time he got on the bus he was dripping wet.

 

                  ~~~~***~~~~

 

As Gale made his way up to his apartment (well...technically it was Cato's) his only thoughts were taking a hot shower and going to his warm bed, but as he made his way inside he saw Cato sitting on the couch and remembered what Clove had said early. He could sense something was wrong.

 

He sighed and said. "Hey, man. Clove said you wanted to talk..."

 

"Oh, hey!" Cato said nervously. "Yeah, I needed to tell you that last night Clove and I got engaged-"

 

"Congratulations, man!" Said Gale trying to sound happy for the guy.

 

"Well, thank you! But the thing is..." He hesitated but went on "I want her to come live with me as soon as possible and she told me she would only live here if you leave."

 

"What!?" Gale really didn't see that coming.

 

"It's nothing personal, don't take it like that. To quote her she just wants to start this new chapter in our lives with no intruders, and I agree with her that it would be the best for all of us. I know you barely tolerate us these days..."

 

"Well, I don't think I have ever 'intruded' on your relationship, in fact, I barely see the two of you and what I barely tolerate is all the noise you do, not you. But the apartment is yours so have it as you wish. Just give time, maybe one or two months and I'll be out." Gale was surprised by this sudden news but maybe it was for the best, it was a nice apartment but he didn't feel free living there anyway and his roommate could be really annoying at times.

 

"I'm afraid you will not have all this time, Gale. See, Clove and I have been talking about moving together for some time and her lease was up so she's is moving in on Monday."

 

"So you're giving me four days to find somewhere to live!?" Gale replied angrily.

 

"Yeah, but sorry man you're living here on a favor anyway..." Cato said not even trying to sound apologetic. "I'm sure you have some friend who will let you crash at their place for a month."

 

What a jerk! Thought Gale. "Ok, Cato. I'll see what I can do." He hissed and walked to his room. When he thought his day couldn't get worse...

 

Just then he looked at the mirror and saw how wet he was because of the rain, his thoughts of taking a warm shower were long forgotten, he had more important matters to worry about. How pathetic was he right now? How did he even got here?

 

As the hot water of the shower fell on his back, he recalled how he ended up in this situation. It had been a year since he lived here, this had been arranged by a friend he had in common with Cato. Back then Gale had just lost his job, the company he worked for went bankrupt and his roommate and ex-girlfriend Katniss had begun dating his nemesis Peeta Mellark. In order not to lose his friendship with her and his mind in the process, he decided to move out. But being short on money he asked help from Finnick, who promptly talked Cato, who had a spare room, into renting it to Gale for a good price.

 

And now he was yet again without a place to live. He would probably have to do what Cato suggested, crash at a friends place for a while. But who? Katniss wasn't an option, Thom and Delly lived in another town, Finnick was in a business trip and would spend at least a month overseas and then there was Madge, but he really didn't want to impose on her.

 

He went to bed thinking about it. He and Madge Undersee hadn't got along so well as teenagers, he thought she was just a stuck up girl and she thought he was an insensitive asshole, but as the years went by they got to know each other better and realized they actually had a lot in common, now in their mid to late 20's they were great friends.

 

He didn't know exactly how or when but Madge crept her way into his heart with her sweetness, loyalty and determination and now she might even be his best friend. They often hung out together and always had a good time doing so. He tried to sleep but with worry about his situation and a blonde in his thoughts, he finally decided to text her.

 

**_Gale - 0:30 a.m._ **

_Hey, Undersee! How you're doing?_

_Wanna grab lunch with me tomorrow in our usual place?_

He didn't expect her to reply, she probably was sleeping. But she replied right away.

**_Madge - 0:31 a.m._ **

_Hi, Gale! I'm tired but fine._

_Of course I will grab lunch with you, missing me already? ;)_

 

**_Gale - 0:32 a.m._ **

_Sorry, didn't want to wake you up._

_But I really need to talk to you._

_Oh, and I might miss you too!_

 

**_Madge - 0:35 a.m._ **

_Oh, you didn't wake me, I was still up._

_I had to clean my place, it was a mess, just finished it a few minutes ago..._

_So what do you want to talk about?_

 

****

**_Gale - 0:37 a.m._ **

_I prefer to talk about it in person if you don't mind._

 

**_Madge - 0:37 a.m._ **

_Ok. I'm kind of worried right now._

**_Gale - 0:39 a.m._ **

_Don't be, there is nothing to worry about. It's just been a tough week._

 

 ** _Madge_** **_-_** ** _0:41 a.m._**

_You know you can tell me anything, right?_

**_Gale - 0:43 a.m._ **

_Absolutely, silly! That’s why I want to talk to you tomorrow!_

_You should get some sleep now, you have to be up early._

**_Madge - 0:45 a.m._ **

_Well, you were the one to first text to me. But you're right, see you tomorrow :)_

****

**_Gale - 0:45 a.m._ **

_Good night, Madge! Sleep well._

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

The next morning Gale did everything he could to avoid seeing Cato, he did not want to cause an anymore uncomfortable situation than it already was. So he left for work early, this time with his report in hands.

 

His morning went by really fast and before he knew it was already lunch time, so he headed off to meet Madge at a diner that was halfway between their jobs. When he got there he saw that Madge had already arrived. She was at a table near the windows looking at her phone, she lifted her head for a moment and saw him, she gave him a bright smile and waved. He got closer and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

 

"Have you been waiting for long?" Gale asked.

 

"No, I just got here. But I already ordered if that's all right with you," replied Madge.

 

"It's fine, so I'll order mine."

 

"Oh, I meant that I took the liberty of ordering for you too." At this, she blushed a little. "You know, the usual... your favorite burger and fries."

 

"Oh, thank you. Guess I'm really predictable then," he said looking a bit defeated.

 

"Come on, we eat here like every other week and you usually ask for the same thing, so that was easy to predict. But overall you're not that easy to read, so don't beat yourself up." She said in a playful tone.

 

"So how was work?" He asked her trying not to be rude by going straight to the point and asking her a huge favor.

 

"The same as always got lots of telephone calls, had a meeting, yadda yadda yadda. But we're here to talk about you, not me, right?" Madge knew her friend, and from years of experience she sensed something was off.

 

"Gosh, Undersee. I was just trying to be polite, but yeah want to ask you a favor" he said nervously. "I'm kind embarrassed by asking you this-"

 

"Just say it already, Gale! I'm curious." If there was something Madge wasn't it was being patient.

 

They were interrupted by the waiter placing their order on the table. As soon as the waiter went away Gale resumed to what he was talking.

 

"Cato sort of kicked me out. I have to leave before Monday."

 

"What a jackass! But what happened?! You two seemed to get on fine." She said baffled with what she had heard.

 

"Well, Clove happened. She never liked me and now they got engaged and she's moving in, and she requested that I shouldn't be there. So I'm moving out." He explained resigned.

 

"Those two deserve each other, never liked them." She hissed. "So what are you gonna do?" Madge asked curiously.

 

"Well, that's where you get in. I was hoping you would let me crash at your place until I find my own..." He said embarrassed and expecting a no and an excuse as an answer.

 

"What?!" That caught her off guard. "I mean, sure. That will be interesting, huh??" She said trying not to sound as surprised as she was.

 

"Thanks, you don't know how much it means to me," Gale said with relief and gratefulness washing him over. "You're a hell of a good friend, Madge."

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

Gale had been her crush for years, younger Madge, in spite of thinking he was rude, would've given everything to have the chance to live with The Gale Hawthorne. And now he was moving in with her on Saturday.

 

If she was being honest with herself she still felt something for him. He was really, really handsome, but he had a lot more going on for him than just that. He was super caring with his family, her heart melted every time she saw him with his little sister, and honestly, he was a wonderful friend. A few years back she wouldn't have guessed that, but he proved to be a great friend over and over again.

 

They first began to get along when he and Katniss started a relationship and they were forced to spend more time together. That was when they truly met each other. As she was Katniss closest friend, after Gale, of course, the three of them were always hanging out together and in due time Madge and Gale built a real friendship and even became confidants.

 

Madge remembers when her mom died and they both got her through it, Katniss was never great with words so Gale was mostly the one doing the talk and that made their connection stronger. Also, that's when she realized she was now closer to him than Katniss. She always felt like she was sort of betraying Katniss because of this, but she always was respectful of their relationship and repressed any weird feelings she might have had for Gale, but about two years back her best friends broke up.

 

She never meant to pick sides, especially because they had an amicable break and even remained living together. But after that Katniss kind of shut down everybody from their circle of friends, so naturally she saw more of Gale. Nowadays she and Katniss saw each other maybe once a month and talked on the phone here and there. But she and Gale were different when he doesn't text her at least once a day she feels like something is missing.

 

Honestly, she likes him as more than a friend, but she knows that's not how he feels about her, so she always plays it cool for the sake of their friendship. Now more than ever she has to put that on her head, he is just her friend and that's it.

 

Meanwhile, Gale too was thinking about his blonde best friend, he didn't know if going to live with Madge was the right thing to do, especially because as of late he felt he had a fancy for her. Living together could put a strain on their relationship and the last thing he wanted was to jeopardize their friendship, it meant too much to him. But at the same time, he thought to hell with that, this was only going to be temporary and in a few months he would get a place of his own and then he would see about his feelings, that is if there were really any anyway.

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

On Thursday and Friday night after work Gale packed most of his belongings and most of the doubt and anxiety he felt before dissipated. On Saturday morning he finished packing and began to take the boxes to the truck he rented for the move. As he was bringing some boxes down he met Cato, who was just coming back to his apartment.

 

"Do you need help?" Cato asked in earnest.

 

"No, thank you. There is not much and it's not heavy anyway." There was a silence after that and some tension between them. Cato was the one to talk first.

 

"So I'll go up, but if you need a hand I will be happy to help."

 

Gale didn't reply and went on with the box, he realized he was being bitter but he couldn't help himself.

 

Later when Gale was moving his last boxes Cato showed up again, this time in the living room. They stared at each other for a bit.

 

"Happy now? I'm finally leaving you alone," Gale said in an ironic tone. "Guess I won't need those anymore." Putting down his keys in the coffee table.

 

"Don't be like this, man... I feel bad, ok? I know I should have talked to you before that Clove wanted you out, but I knew you would take it hard so I delayed it and when I got around to talk to you it was too late and I understand I've made things worse."

 

"Well, thank you? For acknowledging that you were a jerk." Gale tone was full of sarcasm.

 

"I don't want to leave things between us on a bitter note, I'm really sorry for the way I behaved. And I'm glad you already found a new place, otherwise, I would let you stay on here for more time-"

 

"And what about Clove? I'm sure it wouldn't please her."

 

"No, it would not. But you're a friend and it's time I stand up to her for a change. You've lived here for a year, one month more wouldn't make such a difference. And I'm sorry for being a jerk."

 

"Well, gladly Madge took me in so I won't be bothering you any longer. And I'll try to forget that sometimes you're such a tool." He jested no longer being bitter or sarcastic.

 

Cato laughed and replied. "It's nice to see how highly you think of me. You can be really difficult too and grumpy, maybe living with Madge will lighten up your mood." They both chuckled and all the tautness seemed to be gone. "But seriously, I wish you well."

 

"Thanks. See around, Cato." He shook Cato's hand, picked his boxes and headed to Madge's place feeling better because of the conversation and for letting bygones be bygones.

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

When Gale arrived at Madge's building he was still in high spirits and she was already waiting for him in the entrance. He noticed that she wasn't all dressed up like she usually was, she had no makeup on, her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, but she looked just as pretty and radiant. He told her there was no need for her to help him bring the boxes up to her apartment but she did it anyway.

 

As he was handing her one of the boxes, their hands brushed and it was like a spark had ignited inside him. He shook himself up, he shouldn't be feeling like this, Madge was just a friend and it would be disastrous if she thought he felt something other than that for her right now. He couldn't mess this up, she was being nice enough to him by taking him in until he found a decent place, plus she was special for him. Gale never thought he would say that, but they just clicked together and finding friends like her was a rarity.

 

After they brought all of Gale stuff to Madge's spare bedroom she excused herself and told to him feel at home. Later she showed up at his door to let him know that the dinner was ready. 

 

"Hey, you must be really hungry, I'm sorry I didn't make anything earlier but I had some work things go over."

 

"You shouldn't have bothered making dinner if you were working, I can cook too, you know," Gale replied.

 

"So it's a good thing I bought us a pizza."

 

"Oh, I should've known. Madge Undersee cooking is a really suspicious thing," he said laughing.

 

"I will have you know that I cook really well, I'm just not super into it," she said giving him a mocking glare.

 

"I didn't say you were a bad cooker," he said with his hands up.

 

"Good, because I can still kick you out," Madge said as they both chuckled.

 

With this homey feeling, they ate the pizza and watched some movies together before calling it a night.

 

~~~~***~~~~

 

In the Sunday morning, as a thank you, Gale made Madge pancakes and strawberry smoothie with yogurt, her favorites if he remembered correctly.

 

As she walked into the kitchen she asked him, "what are you up to? And why does it smell so good?!"

 

"Good morning to you too. I just made pancakes, do you want some?" Gale replied standing near the stove.

 

"Of course! You don't even have to ask me I'm always willing to eat pancakes. And is that strawberry smoothie?" She said pointing to the blender.

 

"Yes, ma'am. I did it especially for you I know how obsessed you're with strawberries." He said as he handed her a plate full of pancakes covered in coconut syrup.

 

As Gale went to pick a glass of smoothie for her, she tasted the pancakes.

 

"Oh my God, this is delicious! You have never done this one for me before," she said with her mouth full.

 

"It's a new recipe," he shrugged.

 

"You are spoiling me. How am I suppose to let you leave in a few months with you cooking like this!"

 

"I'm sure you get over it. And besides, you can cook it yourself," he mocked her.

 

They enjoyed their meal together joking, talking about their work, their respective plans for the week and even gossiped a little bit about some friends they had in common. After their chat, Madge insisted on cleaning the kitchen since Gale was the one who did all the cooking.

 

So Gale went to his room to finish up putting his stuff together, about half an hour went by before Madge knocked on the door and shyly came in. He was crouched taking out the last of his belongings of a box, she cleared her throat and he looked up.

 

"So… Katniss just called me." She said a little distraught.

 

"Yeah?" Gale replied sounding uninterested, but deep down he was curious to know if the call regarded him. Although they grew apart years ago he still cared about her in a way, maybe it had to do with her being his first love.

 

"She gave me some news." He could tell Madge was hesitating. "I thought I should tell you before someone else does…"

 

"What is it? Did someone die or something?" He chuckles trying to dissipate the tension.

 

"Gosh, no!" She replies. "She's getting married, Gale."

 

"To Mellark?" he says in disbelief.

 

"Yes, who else would it be?"

 

"Didn't expect that, when we were together once I approached the subject of marriage and she told me she was never doing that. Guess she wasn't about doing it with me…" He said sounding more defeated than bitter. All the memories he had of Katniss floating through his mind.

 

Gale had sat on the floor and was running his hand through his hair, messing it all up, Madge knew he only did that when he was feeling nervous. So she set beside him and patted his back.

 

"I'm sorry, Gale. I know you still care a great deal about her." She said feeling genuinely bad for him. She knew what it was like liking someone who had their heart set for somebody else.

 

"Thank you." He said giving her a small smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. "Well, you know what, good for her! We are not together anymore for a reason, I think I was never good enough for her, she deserved better. And Peeta suits her better than I ever would have. I'm kind of a loser anyway." Gale said thoughtfully.

 

"Hey, look at me," Madge said. When he lifted his head and looked at her his gray eyes meeting her deep blue ones, she came even closer to him and he thought he had never seen something so beautiful, she was breathtaking.

 

"Don't ever think so low of yourself you're one the most hardworking, respectful, loyal, kind, caring human beings I've ever met and it's not even the beginning of it. You've been here for me in tough times when you absolutely didn't need to, you're always keen on helping the needy and I could go on and on. So I won't stand here listening to you belittling yourself, not under my watch, sir!"

 

While Madge was talking it was as if she had a fire burning inside her, all that she said had so much passion to it. Gale had never realized she could be so feisty, especially when talking about him. Maybe he wasn't paying enough attention before.

 

"I really appreciate what you've done to me this week and all the support you have given me through the years, you're awesome." He said, picking up her hand and caressing it.

 

"So are you done feeling sorry for yourself?" She said with a warming tone, caressing his hand back with her finger.

 

"I'll try, Madge." This time he gave her a real smile. "I think we make a good team." He said going for an embrace.

 

Mid embrace Madge took all the courage inside her and went for a kiss, at first it took Gale aback, but soon he began to respond. It was a fiery, passionate and demanding kiss.

 

Madge was the one to pull back. "I'm really sorry, Gale. I don't know I was think-" Before she could finish the sentence he leaned in and shut her with another kiss. This time it was soft and slow. They lost themselves in each other for a couple of minutes. When they finally stopped to take a breath they both were disheveled and had a dumb smile on their faces. Between shaky and shallow breaths they talked.

 

"So we probably should talk about what just happened, huh?" Madge said breaking the silence.

 

"Do we?" Gale replied making a face.

 

"Yes."

 

"Okay. Want to go first? You were the one who kissed me after all…" He said playfully.

 

"And you kissed me back. But I'll go first." She replied chuckling. "I think for the longest time I have been feeling something for you, though it wasn't as if I was carrying a torch for you or anything but feelings were there. And until very recently I hadn't admitted to myself that they were there, but today – this week – and seeing you so down made me bold, made me wanna show how much you are appreciated…" Madge said passionately and with a blush rising under her collar. "But I'll understand if you don't feel the same for me."

 

"Do you really think I'd have done all this kissing if wasn't interested?" He asked her.

 

"I don't know. Maybe you just got carried away after I kissed you," she answered not so sure of herself.

 

"I kissed you back because I wanted to do that. I might have been pretty oblivious to your feelings for me, but in the moment we kissed it was as though nothing else mattered. To be honest I had been fantasizing with the idea of kissing you for a while but I never thought you, beautiful, accomplished, together Madge would want to be something more than my friend."

 

" Clearly I could be more than your friend. But you mean what you said?"

 

"Of course I do." He said as he put his arms around her and gave her a forehead kiss.

 

"So would you be willing to give us try?"

 

"Yes, I would." He replied smiling. "But don't you think that would be weird with us living together and everything?"

 

"I suppose we can make this work." She said giving him a mischievous smile.

 

"Then I'm in," Gale replied going in for another make out session because in that moment they couldn't get enough of each other.

 

At this moment Gale could not be happier or luckier. He could never have imagined that that unfortunate Wednesday would lead him to his luckiest day yet and that a misfortune could ever become so fortunate.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated :)


End file.
